There's comfort in letting go.
There's relief in knowing that you don't have all the answers. We always want to be right. We strive to have our feelings validated consistently, but sometimes it's a good thing to be ignorant. We get to grow from these instances. As I've gotten older, I've noticed that these lessons become rare; it isn't due to a lack of opportunity to grow. It's from our egos, telling us that we should already know the answers to the questions we are presented with.
But we are not all-knowing. Wise would not be the word I use to describe the people I consistently meet. I could use words like deep, delightful, and strong. Those are all great attributes to have. Maybe some of them are more important than being wise. There's a connotation where being smart or knowing what to do is what we should all strive for. That’s why so many podcasts and YouTube channels are dedicated to having “all the answers”. While I think it's a good idea to educate yourself and prepare for things that may be difficult, I also believe that we will never get to a point where we are ready for anything.
Recently, there have been numerous situations in my life where I feel completely out of my element. There are relationships that I have no control over. It's made my anxiety very intense; I need to control what is going on. But gaining control of them would also mean other people involved wouldn't get their say in the matter. It also would prevent me from growing while allowing space for other people to blossom in my life. I've had to learn that not having an immediate answer is okay. Sometimes, the unfortunate news is that you will never get an answer. You'll have to wonder what if and be happy with that.
With smartphones being so prevalent now, we have assumed that being able to research on the fly makes us all more intelligent. It doesn't. Far from it, we have let this small comfort take control of our learning process. We no longer seek out concrete answers. We settle for what can be gained immediately. It's a curse and a blessing. We are all smarter and somehow dumber at the same time.
True wisdom is understanding that unavailable information can come around the bend when you least expect it. You sometimes have to sit with yourself and acknowledge that you don't have all the answers. These attributes are what make it rare, maybe rarer, nowadays. Instant gratification stifles it, and we are a society obsessed with the instantaneous.